has the current state of society failed this poor woman again??

G Power

I'm literally speechless regarding the story below but I'm sure it's worthy of some political discussion considering the croke park deal and current cuts to vital services and the general state of the nation right now

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/woman-hospitalised-after-third-assault-in-mayo-1.1335914

A 36-year-old boutique owner was recovering at Mayo General Hospital last night from injuries she received when hooded men attacked her at her home in Breaffy, near Castlebar.
It was the third vicious attack in as many months on Regina Sweeney. It occurred at about 5.15pm today and resulted in Ms Sweeney being taken to hospital with unspecified injuries. It is understood her injuries are not life-threatening.
Ms Sweeney, who is married to a local detective, is a daughter of the late Liam Coady, who was personal driver to Taoiseach Enda Kenny when he was leader of the opposition.
She was first attacked and robbed at her home in early December by two men wearing balaclavas.
Following the December attack, she appeared on The Late Late Show to take part in a panel discussion on the rising wave of rural crime.
The second attack, also at her home, occurred in early February when she was taunted by her two attackers that she “wasn’t as cocky now as she was on the telly”.
There is local speculation a criminal gang, possibly with Limerick connections, may be involved in the attacks on Ms Sweeney because of her Garda connections.

Love2u

I don't have all the information on this but from what i can see they are stating on the newspapers that "There is local speculation a criminal gang, possibly with Limerick connections, may be involved in the attacks on Ms Sweeney because of her Garda connections"
Now if this is the case, the Gardai are going to have to get more resources and security. For something like this to happen three times and the culprits have not been caught, it's quiet serious. The army may need to be called in to help, as we all know these gangs are armed and dangerous.

These people have been housed locally and are tipping each other off as to the movements of Gardai etc...

Shame on the council for giving such people housing, put them back into their caravans.

I hope if the thugs are caught that the screwed up Irish judiciary system will lock these cowards up for a long time. We need less of these people on the streets.

FreudianSlippers

"Back into their caravans"? :eek:

Also, care to elaborate how this is the fault of the judiciary (sic) system?

Love2u

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

"Back into their caravans"? :eek:

Also, care to elaborate how this is the fault of the judiciary (sic) system?

We have a problem where certain people continuously reoffend and are continuously in court, my point is why are these people getting such light sentencing all the time! Harsher sentencing is needed! These people think they are above the law. Pick up the local newspapers and see the continuous reoffenders getting off Scott free.

GRMA

Mr Slippers is a barrister so expect nothing other than a defense of the judiciary.


Her husband is a detective, I suspect that is part of the reason why she has been attacked.

Love2u

GRMA wrote: »

Mr Slippers is a barrister so expect nothing other than a defense of the judiciary.


Her husband is a detective, I suspect that is part of the reason why she has been attacked.

Indeed!

FreudianSlippers

Love2u wrote: »

We have a problem where certain people continuously reoffend and are continuously in court, my point is whey are these people getting such light sentencing all the time! Harsher sentencing is needed! These people think they are above the law. Pick up the local newspapers and see the continuous reoffenders getting off Scott free.

That's a problem with the law and the prison service, not the judicial system. Our judicial system is far from perfect, but the courts can only impose sentences which are mandated in legislation by the government. If a judge goes outside this to excessively punish or make an example of it, the court is bound by duty and law to correct this (see: Mr Begley and his 'apples').

What we really need are better prisons with more room, proper education/rehabilitation/punishment and stricter penalties for re-offenders. As I see it in the present case, the is also a completely ineffective and toothless police service. I believe we should have two distinct services in crime prevention AGS should be drastically reduced in size and carry out day-to-day policing and monitoring of streets, traffic, etc; as well as a police service which deals with more serious matters like gangs, violence, drugs and non-petty crime. These police, lets call them Póilíní na hÉireann, should be armed and equipped with the funding and manpower to actually prevent serious crime.

FreudianSlippers

GRMA wrote: »

Mr Slippers is a barrister so expect nothing other than a defense of the judiciary.

I'm not blindly defending anyone, but I fail to see how inadequate policing in the present case can be attributed to the judiciary.

Her husband is a detective, I suspect that is part of the reason why she has been attacked.

I think we can all se certain that that is an element, but it raises more questions and concerns than it answers.

Chucky the tree

GRMA wrote: »

Mr Slippers is a barrister so expect nothing other than a defense of the judiciary.


Her husband is a detective, I suspect that is part of the reason why she has been attacked.

How come we don't hear about other detectives wives continuously being assaulted?

JRant

It's truely awful what this woman has/is going through. I'd imagine the mental scares of these attacks will take a long time to come to terms with.

Politically, this government has decided that the pay packet of a few hundred thousand employees is more important than providing services to the millions of citizens. It was a very black or white decision, pay versus services. Now we have a situation of garda station closing across the country, regional hospitals being closed down with no contingencies put in place, and people are finally getting to see exactly what the Croke park deals means.

To blame the Gardai or the judiciary is laughable really. Situations like this poor womans plight are a direct result of gross political mismanagement.

hatrickpatrick

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

Also, care to elaborate how this is the fault of the judiciary (sic) system?

Allow me to butt in here: Go to the Irish Times website and do a search for "assault" and "suspended sentence".
There's your answer.

Love2u

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

That's a problem with the law and the prison service, not the judicial system. Our judicial system is far from perfect, but the courts can only impose sentences which are mandated in legislation by the government. If a judge goes outside this to excessively punish or make an example of it, the court is bound by duty and law to correct this (see: Mr Begley and his 'apples').

What we really need are better prisons with more room, proper education/rehabilitation/punishment and stricter penalties for re-offenders. As I see it in the present case, the is also a completely ineffective and toothless police service. I believe we should have two distinct services in crime prevention AGS should be drastically reduced in size and carry out day-to-day policing and monitoring of streets, traffic, etc; as well as a police service which deals with more serious matters like gangs, violence, drugs and non-petty crime. These police, lets call them Póilíní na hÉireann, should be armed and equipped with the funding and manpower to actually prevent serious crime.

Judges here can do and "say" as they please!! And get away with it! I don't wish to get into it any further especially when you are so closely involved in the system yourself. I'm sorry but I see the whole system as a farce.

Itsdacraic

I believe all may not be as it seems with this case

AlekSmart

Bit of a subtle shift of emphasis today alright...

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/gardai-wind-down-probe-into-attacks-29151254.html

The appearance of the words "claimed" and "alleged"in the article,along with it's brevity indicates to me that we may well see this investigation taking an entirely different course ?

Love2u

Itsdacraic wrote: »

I believe all may not be as it seems with this case

Can you elaborate? Little or No information is given in the news or papers in relation to this.

Love2u

AlekSmart wrote: »

Bit of a subtle shift of emphasis today alright...

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/gardai-wind-down-probe-into-attacks-29151254.html

The appearance of the words "claimed" and "alleged"in the article,along with it's brevity indicates to me that we may well see this investigation taking an entirely different course ?

Something is not adding up. The news and papers are giving little or no information in relation to it. Most unusual.

kopfan77

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

I believe we should have two distinct services in crime prevention AGS should be drastically reduced in size and carry out day-to-day policing and monitoring of streets, traffic, etc; as well as a police service which deals with more serious matters like gangs, violence, drugs and non-petty crime. These police, lets call them Póilíní na hÉireann, should be armed and equipped with the funding and manpower to actually prevent serious crime.

You mean, like a detective unit or something...hmmm

antoobrien

kopfan77 wrote: »

You mean, like a detective unit or something...hmmm

No, it seems that the suggestion is more like an FBI or BKA type organisation.

Love2u wrote: »

Something is not adding up. The news and papers are giving little or no information in relation to it. Most unusual.

I'd imagine there's a reason for that: they've only been told so much by the Gardaí (for investigative reasons) and they can't print/say too much about what the locals are saying (i.e. which set of criminals they think are behind it) for fear of liable or slander.

JRant

kopfan77 wrote: »

You mean, like a detective unit or something...hmmm

I think there's a lot to be said for having specialist units with clearly defined roles.
CAB is a example of how good these units can be, of course they need proper funding and legislation to succeed which is again a political decision.

There is a very real need for a specialist gangs unit inside the AGS at the moment. To expect detectives to go against, what are essential militia groups, is somewhat unfair. These gangs has vast sums of money, are armed to the teeth and have just as much information about the gardai as the gardai have about them.

JRant

Love2u wrote: »

Judges here can do and "say" as they please!! And get away with it! I don't wish to get into it any further especially when you are so closely involved in the system yourself. I'm sorry but I see the whole system as a farce.

Is that really the case though?
Sure some judgements are farcical but there is always the option of the DPP appealing any decision. I think for the most part they do an excellent job in pretty much lose lose situation. Sentence to hard and they're criticised (see the garlic man), sentence to lightly and they're criticised (see the Lyon's case).

AlekSmart

Love2u wrote: »

Something is not adding up. The news and papers are giving little or no information in relation to it. Most unusual.

I do hope there's not a Kevin McKeever scenario developing here.....recessions do strange things to folks

AlekSmart

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

What we really need are better prisons with more room, proper education/rehabilitation/punishment and stricter penalties for re-offenders. As I see it in the present case, the is also a completely ineffective and toothless police service. I believe we should have two distinct services in crime prevention AGS should be drastically reduced in size and carry out day-to-day policing and monitoring of streets, traffic, etc; as well as a police service which deals with more serious matters like gangs, violence, drugs and non-petty crime. These police, lets call them Póilíní na hÉireann, should be armed and equipped with the funding and manpower to actually prevent serious crime.

Fully agree on these points.

The necessary Prison Space is required,but it has to be effectively managed and operated by the State itself rather than a coterie of inmates,as it seems to be currently.

In order to be an effective deterrent,any Prison sentence has to carry with it a significant amount of hardship and disruption of the guilty parties lifestyle and routine.

Significantly reduced contact with family and friends,NO access whatever to electronic media,including Mobile Phones,Laptops or PC's should all be an integral part of a Judges repetory of sentencing options.

Overt criminal actions need to have a very clear and unambiguous response should one be convicted of them.

The entire issue of Bail also requires urgent reassessment,particularly the entitlement to same,when one is a recidivist criminal.

I suggest that we are moving inexorably towards an "X-Strikes and Out" scenario as the current arrangements not only make a laughing-stock of the Irish Constitution,but actively facilitate those who seek to usurp the State itself.

However,it is the issue of the seperate Police Forces which is most likely to have the greatest immediate effect should it be adopted.

It was,in fact,raised by Micheal McDowell as Minister for Justice in the context of a "what type of Police force do we want" speech.

He outlined the options as FreudianSlippers has (Hmmmm )
but he reached the conclusion that the Irish People would have difficulty with a European Style Gendarmerie force.

Times have moved on apace,and if the same question was posed today,I suspect the Fír agus Mná na hEireann would give a massive Yes to it.

Whilst the Judiciary do have a certain element of "blame" to shoulder I believe most of them are trying to uphold the law in a fair manner.

However,as has been pointed out repeatedly by the likes of Paul Carney,they are substantially encumbered by often incredible judgements handed down by the Supreme Court,which at times appears to sit in an atmosphere of oxygen depletion.

johnnyskeleton

JRant wrote: »

I think there's a lot to be said for having specialist units with clearly defined roles.
CAB is a example of how good these units can be, of course they need proper funding and legislation to succeed which is again a political decision.

There is a very real need for a specialist gangs unit inside the AGS at the moment.

You mean like the crime and security division, National Bureau of criminal investigation, organised crimes unit, ERU etc? They all deal with serious gangland and terrorist related offences. There are other specialist units too - national bureau of fraud investigation, Garda national immigration bureau, serious crimes review, the national and regional drugs units etc. there are also dedicated sections within these units whose existence and specific details are not made public. Such units already exist.

[quite]To expect detectives to go against, what are essential militia groups, is somewhat unfair. These gangs has vast sums of money, are armed to the teeth and have just as much information about the gardai as the gardai have about t.[/Quote]

They do have vast amounts of money, but what is your source re: the latter part? As for the claim that they are militia groups, that's what the ERU regional teams are there for, kinda like SWAT. That's in addition to the regular armed detectives.

Love2u

antoobrien wrote: »

No, it seems that the suggestion is more like an FBI or BKA type organisation.



I'd imagine there's a reason for that: they've only been told so much by the Gardaí (for investigative reasons) and they can't print/say too much about what the locals are saying (i.e. which set of criminals they think are behind it) for fear of liable or slander.

Indeed! But I think all three incidents did happen, and now we may have a case where Gardai have to keep all details hush hush for everyone's safety etc.... The girl seems very genuine and is well liked locally so I can't imagine any of the stories are untrue.

Love2u

JRant wrote: »

Is that really the case though?
Sure some judgements are farcical but there is always the option of the DPP appealing any decision. I think for the most part they do an excellent job in pretty much lose lose situation. Sentence to hard and they're criticised (see the garlic man), sentence to lightly and they're criticised (see the Lyon's case).

I agree with you on some of this, however in Mayo we have a judge who seems to have a split personality, she's allowed to insult anyone who faces her. Surely her job should involve serving the proper sentence and not insulting, and making remarks about people. From what I see and hear the woman is erratic and needs to step down. Solicitors, police, the general public have a strong dislike for her behaviour but she gets away with it!

JRant

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

You mean like the crime and security division, National Bureau of criminal investigation, organised crimes unit, ERU etc? They all deal with serious gangland and terrorist related offences. There are other specialist units too - national bureau of fraud investigation, Garda national immigration bureau, serious crimes review, the national and regional drugs units etc. there are also dedicated sections within these units whose existence and specific details are not made public. Such units already exist.

[quite]To expect detectives to go against, what are essential militia groups, is somewhat unfair. These gangs has vast sums of money, are armed to the teeth and have just as much information about the gardai as the gardai have about t.

They do have vast amounts of money, but what is your source re: the latter part? As for the claim that they are militia groups, that's what the ERU regional teams are there for, kinda like SWAT. That's in addition to the regular armed detectives.[/QUOTE]

No, I mean a completely dedicated unit with the sole purpose of going after these gangs. The national Bureau of investigation has a much broader remit then just gangs. Also the GBFI is seriously under manned and lacks the proper legislative backing IMO.

McDowell commenting on the "arsenal" of weaponry way back in 2006, and I'm sure the situation hasn't improved since

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/cwqlaueygbid/

Regarding the information available to such gangs

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Cocaine-addict-Irish-cop-questioned-over-intelligence-leak-to-criminal-gangs-69554427.html

"A female Garda (Irish Police officer) based in Dublin has become the fourth member of the Garda Siochana to be questioned about leaking vital information to ruthless criminals gangs"

Any source for these dedicated sections within sections?

JRant

Love2u wrote: »

I agree with you on some of this, however in Mayo we have a judge who seems to have a split personality, she's allowed to insult anyone who faces her. Surely her job should involve serving the proper sentence and not insulting, and making remarks about people. From what I see and hear the woman is erratic and needs to step down. Solicitors, police, the general public have a strong dislike for her behaviour but she gets away with it!

Unfortunately every profession has a few bad apples and it's still disappointing that the Twenty-second Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001, was never passed and hasn't been looked at since.

Gloomtastic!

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/gardai-wind-down-probe-into-attacks-29151254.html

Need to look a little closer to home me thinks....

johnnyskeleton

JRant wrote: »

No, I mean a completely dedicated unit with the sole purpose of going after these gangs. The national Bureau of investigation has a much broader remit then just gangs. Also the GBFI is seriously under manned and lacks the proper legislative backing IMO.

Well the organized crime unit fits that bill nicely, but I don't agree that having a dedicated unit for specific gangs is necessarily the best way to go about

Regarding the information available to such gangs

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Cocaine-addict-Irish-cop-questioned-over-intelligence-leak-to-criminal-gangs-69554427.html

"A female Garda (Irish Police officer) based in Dublin has become the fourth member of the Garda Siochana to be questioned about leaking vital information to ruthless criminals gangs"

An article about gardai being questioned about leaking information is hardly the same as saying the gangs know as much about the gardai as the gardai know about them.

Any source for these dedicated sections within sections?

http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=40

For the subgroups of c&s. as for other groups, as I said above, and indeed your article supports, there are certain aspects of Garda operations that are kept out of the public domain.

Love2u

JRant wrote: »

Unfortunately every profession has a few bad apples and it's still disappointing that the Twenty-second Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001, was never passed and hasn't been looked at since.

Indeed, but its a shame the bad apple gets highly paid for being a ..... in this day and age. She continues to let certain people off the hook who have numerous convictions and these people are costing the tax payer.

Icepick

Who is this society and can we burn down his house?

Love2u

Icepick wrote: »

Who is this society and can we burn down his house?

JRant

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Well the organized crime unit fits that bill nicely, but I don't agree that having a dedicated unit for specific gangs is necessarily the best way to go about

Well it certainly wouldn't do any harm but I can understand where your coming from.


An article about gardai being questioned about leaking information is hardly the same as saying the gangs know as much about the gardai as the gardai know about them.

The article mentions it was one of a number of such investigations. The point being that there are ways and means for these gangs to obtain information.


http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=40

For the subgroups of c&s. as for other groups, as I said above, and indeed your article supports, there are certain aspects of Garda operations that are kept out of the public domain.

Cheers

RATM

Thing thing I found weird about this case was the initial attack. The media reported that in the aftermath there was a car chase across lots of counties in the west/north west. It involved up to 120 Gardai, had 40 checkpoints and it lasted 6 hours.

The criminal gang were driving a Subaru Legacy which can go up to 260kph. But what I found weird about that is that it doesn't matter if you have a car that can do 260kph if it isn't actually possible to do speeds like that (or anywhere near it) on rural roads in the west. Gardai should still have been able to catch them, especially as they mobilised dozens of units from all over the province and have the benefit of radio communications. Plus they had 6 hours to do it. The Subaru must have had a full tank of petrol too because driving full force for that amount of time is going to use fuel pretty quickly.

Love2u

RATM wrote: »

Thing thing I found weird about this case was the initial attack. The media reported that in the aftermath there was a car chase across lots of counties in the west/north west. It involved up to 120 Gardai, had 40 checkpoints and it lasted 6 hours.

The criminal gang were driving a Subaru Legacy which can go up to 260kph. But what I found weird about that is that it doesn't matter if you have a car that can do 260kph if it isn't actually possible to do speeds like that (or anywhere near it) on rural roads in the west. Gardai should still have been able to catch them, especially as they mobilised dozens of units from all over the province and have the benefit of radio communications. Plus they had 6 hours to do it. The Subaru must have had a full tank of petrol too because driving full force for that amount of time is going to use fuel pretty quickly.

Fair points, but we can't take word for word from the media, plus we were not there to see what actually happened so its a case of us not really knowing the full story. We are only really getting bits of the story here and there!!?

Love2u

Icepick wrote: »

Who is this society and can we burn down his house?

You would need a lot of matches